Arizona plays to potential

Wildcats rout Wisconsin, face Villanova next

By MICHAEL BRADLEY, SPECIAL TO THE P-I

Published 9:00 pm, Friday, March 17, 2006

PHILADELPHIA -- So, maybe this was the real Arizona, the team that was supposed to earn a top-four seed in the NCAA Tournament. The one that was expected to spend some serious time in the rankings this year.

Hey, a 94-75 first-round strafing of Wisconsin is a pretty emphatic statement.

Then again ...

"We always say, 'Which Arizona is going to show up?' " guard Hassan Adams said after his team's victory Friday in the Minneapolis Regional. "I believe this is going to be a team to be reckoned with."

If Adams is shooting the way he did against the Badgers, and Mustafa Shakur is running the team with similar effectiveness, and the Wildcats are outrebounding people 36-27, like they did against the Badgers, then yes, this is a dangerous club.

Wisconsin found that out immediately. Arizona blitzed to an 8-0 lead. Pushed the edge to 24-8 with 12:33 left. The Wildcats pretty much settled things with an 11-0 run that made it 35-11 with 8:48 to play in the first half.

Wisconsin came back a bit here and there, but the outcome was never in doubt. And it was as much the Badgers' fault as it was Arizona's. Why in the world would Wisconsin try to play up-tempo against a team with the perimeter skill of the Wildcats? Arizona credited assistant coach Josh Pastner's scouting report with identifying the Badgers' weak spots and showing the Wildcats how to exploit them.

Exploit them they did. Adams finished with 21 points, and that was after spending much of the first half on the bench with two fouls. Although the Wildcats made some head-scratching decisions with their shots and passes, they kept the tempo in their neighborhood and never allowed Wisconsin to play the kind of deliberate, physical game it prefers. Anybody who saw the Badgers' Big Ten Conference semifinal with Indiana, which featured a 19-15 halftime score, knows just how gruesome Wisconsin can make things.

On Friday, Wisconsin could do little. Big Ten Player of the Year Alando Tucker scored 19 points, but shot 5-for-15. Meanwhile, every Arizona starter but freshman forward Marcus Williams (3-of-10) shot well. And walk-on forward Bret Brielmaier had 10 points and eight rebounds in 25 minutes.

"We all call him the No. 1 walk-on in the country," Shakur said. "If he were just 2 inches taller (Brielmaier is 6-6), he'd be amazing."

That's what happens when you win by 19. Walk-ons contribute and everybody smiles. And injuries, suspensions and Adams' recent DUI arrest seem to disappear in the glow of victory. While Adams' 10-of-14 shooting was impressive, Shakur's floor game was more important. He concocted a perfect brew of passing and shooting to set a pace that allowed Arizona to play with its throttle wide open.

And he did it in front of the hometown crowd. A native of Philadelphia's West Oak Lane section, Shakur needed to secure 42 tickets for family and friends. As it turns out, it wasn't so hard, since he had been sliding comps to his West Coast teammates for years. Shakur held plenty of markers to cash.

Those who took advantage of the tickets saw quite a show. Arizona started quickly and finished decisively, giving the impression it's a dangerous team.

"I think it was one of the top games we've played," coach Lute Olson said.

Next, the Wildcats get top seed Villanova, which staggered through a 58-45 first-round victory over Monmouth. It should be interesting to see which Arizona team shows up.